What other use would an engineer have for the Financial Times except propagating combustion or emergency toilet paper
The earlier Perkins engine numbers indicate the number of cylinders and cubic capacity in inches so a 4.108 = 4 cylinder 108 cu inch engine.
Despite the similarity of type numbers 4.107 and 4.108 were very different designs.
The 4.107 used wet sleeves or liners in a skeleton type cylinder block,whereas the 4.108 employed a more conventional one piece cast jacketed cylinder block.
Both these engines were of the high speed indirect injection design and it was this that made them a difficult sod to start in cold conditions and sometimes even warm conditions.
Also as a previous post has said they required frequent oil and filter changes or engine service life became greatly reduced.
The far more desirable and reliable workhorses in the Perkins stable were the direct injection engines
such as the 3.152, 4.236, 4.248, and the 6.354 all of which were fitted to various Massey Ferguson tractors, combine harvesters and many other manufacturers industrial vehicles and plant and offered as normally aspirated or turbo charged depending on output requirement.
The bottom line is if I were looking to source an engine for a small generator plant I wouldn't bother with a 4.107 or 4.108.
If a serviceable 3.152 or 4.236 was available I'd be tempted but these days there are plenty of super reliable car diesel engine units available from the breakers yard such as the Peugeot 1.9 or 2.0 litre units,which incidentally, Perkins have had a role in at the consultancy and design stages.
